Cold Rush Day Two: Cliffs

Kye Petersen shuns gravity on his way to an impressive Cliffs run Thursday. PHOTO: Kade Krichko.

Mother Nature may have dropped 10 inches and a thick layer of clouds on Revelstoke Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Cold Rush train. Calling an audible, the competition shifted from Backcountry Slopestyle to Cliffs, helicoptering out to a remote zone off the backside of the resort and setting up for another day of big airs and big crashes.

“The venue was a lot different than I thought it would be,” said Johnny Collinson. “Instead of a couple of cliffs it was this big cirque where we could all ping off and choose a different line.”

Scouted by Chris Rubens on an earlier backcountry mission, the area offered up a handful of line possibilities—including a string of triple stage cliffs and big drops that kept competitors thinking until drop-in. Its remote location kept lines stayed fresh, with many of the shots likely skied for the first time this season.

Variety was again the order du jour as a playful skier’s left attracted the likes of Sean Pettit, Kye Petersen, and the increasingly ballsy skiing of Stan Rey. Rey decided one wasn’t enough after yesterday’s massive Big Mountain backie, tossing a double backflip off a rolling cliff face midway down his run. The rotation was on point, but The Whistlerite couldn’t hold on, getting bucked on impact.

Petersen had the most impressive line early, sending a big air off the top cliff section before floating a 40-foot 360 to his feet.

“I came into this week pretty beat up, so I wasn’t sure coming into it, but I ended up trying to stay warm and stuck the lines that I knew I could land,” said Petersen. “Any time you’re moving that fast, you’re going to bounce on your landing, but I felt pretty good about it.”

As the competition worked its way from skier’s left to right across the ridgeline, runs became more convoluted and technical, with Greg Hope once again picking out his own slice of Cliff City, dropping a 45-foot bomb before Dane Tudor squeezed in four airs, including an opening 360 that had him skiing hot through the rest of his line.

Collinson capped off the day in style, laying out a backflip up top before floating a huge 360 off the bottom cliff zone. After slowing his spin midair, he muscled out a tough landing and stayed on his feet despite taking a knee to the nose.

With blood dripping from his nose and mouth, Collinson managed a smile as the crowd of athletes gathered at the base went wild.

“I just don’t want to get blood in the heli,” he said. “Other than that, I’m good.”

Cold Rush will try and wrap things up tomorrow with the Backcountry Slopestyle and Uphill Assault events before voting for the King and Queen of Cold Rush takes place this Saturday.